CotW: And a Candygirl (or Gurl) Will Hold a Mirror Up to Us All

I just finished watching this summer’s most scathing indictment of our current political scene and gender politics. I just finished watching the video for Katy Perry’s “California Gurls.”

California Gurls

Now, your first instinct might be to scoff at this; to call your friends and say, “I tell you what, that Tim Stevens is finally out of his gourd.” (Because, yeah, you talk to your friends about me, no reason to deny it.) But really watch it with an open mind. And prepare for your mind to be blown. 

To take it from the top, we are greeted by an image of Snoop Dogg as a game master of sorts, rolling the dice that controls the Candyland-esque scene below him. (Actually before that, we hear Snoop’s voice saying, in a dulcet tone, “Greetings Loved Ones.” When the D-O-Double G first hit the scene did anyone anticipate he could refer to his listeners as loved ones without a hint of irony or threat? Time makes kittens of us all, eh?) This nicely reflects the current streak of white panic exhibited by many in the United States following the election of Barack Obama. Like our President, Snoop is a powerful black man in control. 

The game also doubles as commentary about the tone of our current society. It speaks to the unreality that has been enhanced and encouraged by the 24 hour news cycle. Everything has been reduced to gaming one another: the press against the politicians, the conservative against the liberals, and everyone against the people. In this environment, it is only about winning, not about improving the country. Thus, we do not have serious conversations about gender, race, sexuality, etc, but rather only plot to get to the Candy Castle first and hold it the longest. 

Meanwhile, on the board, which is apparently California—and has changed a lot since the last time I was out there—women are but objects, little more than living sweets. Even though the music video speaks to strong women in control, this “role” makes it clear that this “strength” is but an illusion. Women may have reclaimed their sexuality, as evidenced by Katy and her candy coated pals, but that is all they are in control of, and only in control of in so far as men appreciate it. Thus, for instance, Ms. Perry must always be outfitted with heels, either wearing them or holding them to put back on her feet, regardless of the impracticality of it all.

This is further enhanced the seeming perfection of the “candy” California. On the surface, who would not want to live there? However, dig a little deeper and you find a beautiful but vapid place where beautiful but vapid people do little and accomplish less. This speaks to the frustration of smart women who discover that all they have wrestled to accomplish over the decades has still left them every bit the sex objects men leer upon. They may win—more on that later—but these days the victories look an awful lot like losses. Plus, those sorts of victories often bring with them the acrimony of some men. In the video, the men who resent these gains are the gummy bears who flip off our protagonist before scampering away, some would some impotently. 

In addition to hollow victories, the video also asserts that feminism is still largely a game—if you will forgive the pun—that mostly benefits white women with women of color getting the crumbs leftover. It is no accident that Perry walks around candy California under her own steam throughout the video while her supporting cast—three women of color—are sprung by Perry before they may follow her lead.

Things are not better on the other side of the gender divide either. The video is replete with castration fears. The snake is a classic phallic symbol, typically associated with powerful/fear-inducing masculinity. Here, however, the snake is but a transport for Perry to traverse her candy world. Then, there is the whole “melt your popsicle” line, the only line from the song that gains literal representation in the video. That’s no coincidence, my friends. 

This fear of being stripped of power by feminism continues on throughout the video. Those surly gummy bears prove weak and incompetent when push comes to shove. An initially angry looking gingerbread man softens his stance on the ladies and is literally consumed by them because of it. Snoop Dogg, formerly the game master and historically a “scary” player in gangsta rap, is defeated and buried up to his neck in sugar/sand, stripped of all but his own voice which he then uses to sing the ladies praises. 

However, the “scariest” of the feminism run amok image comes when Perry stops forward to open fire on Snoop and his gummy army. Here, the quintessentially feminine act of breast feeding—which also, inevitably, calls to mind the act of giving life through birth, that other quintessential feminine act—is twisted into something aggressive. It is no longer about a women fulfilling her “role” but rather something aggressive used to triumph and subjugate the men around her.

See, not so out of my gourd after all, aren’t I?